doze

Where does the word "doze" come from? It comes from Old Norse dúsa, passing through Middle English before entering English (1640s).

Doze’s story begins in Old Norse: dúsa meant “to doze, rest, remain quiet.” Meant to rest quietly or doze off. By before 1640s, the word had taken hold in Middle English as dosen. Surfaced as a dialect word, possibly long before its first written record. It reached English by 1640s as doze. Narrowed to the specific sense of drifting into light sleep. Today, doze means to sleep lightly or briefly.

1. Stage 1 · Old Norse · medieval dúsa "to doze, rest, remain quiet", meant to rest quietly or doze off.
2. Stage 2 · Middle English · before 1640s dosen "to be dazed or stupefied", surfaced as a dialect word, possibly long before its first written record.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1640s doze "to sleep lightly or fitfully", narrowed to the specific sense of drifting into light sleep.